Click and Clone

Recently I came across a rather interesting website: Learn.Genetics- Genetic Science Learning Centre. The website is hosted by the University of Utah, and is meant to “[help] people understand how genetics affects their lives and society” (the website’s mission statement).

Learn.Genetics covers an array of issues pertaining to genetic engineering, ranging from stem implantation to cloning. What I enjoy most about this website is that it doesn't just launch you into uncharted area- it eases you into it with interactive step-by-step infographics.

If you are not familiar with the configurations of a cell or DNA molecule, then you should probably start off with the 'Tour of the Basics’. Among other options, you can choice to explore what are genes, chromosomes and DNA molecules.

My favourite interactive infographic is ‘Click and Clone’, whereby as a user, you get to clone a mouse called Mimi. You ‘literally’ (well, maybe 'virtually' is the better term) conduct the scientific procedure yourself. You have to ‘click and drag’ the nucleus and cells using the instruments provided. The audio accompanying each interaction brings some degree of life and immediacy into the animation.

Step-By-Step
Before you embark on the experiment, you are introduced to the mice and tools you will be using to clone Mimi. There is:
- Mimi: the brown mouse you will be cloning
- Megdo: the black mouse, which will be the egg cell donor
And finally
-Momi: the white mouse, which will be the surrogate mother in which the Mimi clone is grown.

Your instruments are a:
- Microscope
- Petri dish
-Sharp pipette
- Blunt pipette
And
- Chemical to stimulate cell division.

Afterwards you have to click on ‘Let’s Clone Mimi’ to proceed to the initial step. At this stage you get to examine each step in the procedure, as follows:

-Isolate donor cells from Mimi and Megdo.
-Remove and discard the nucleus from the egg cell.
-Transfer the somatic cell nucleus into the enucleated egg cell.
-Stimulate cell division.
-Implant the embryo into Momi, the surrogate mother.
-Deliver the baby mouse clone of Mimi.

I do not want to spoil the experience for you so I will not go through the steps. However, I do encourage you to do so yourself. Just a word of warning- read the instructions on each step before you start clicking and dragging.

History
This interactive infographic is based on a research protocol that was used in one of several milestone experiments on cloning. The last slide reads as follows:

In 1998, scientists at the University of Hawaii made mice genetically identical to the mouse from which the cumulus donor cell was taken. The first-born survivor was named Cumulina.

The scientists learned that allowing between one and six hours for the newly transferred nucleus to adjust to adjust to the enucleated egg cell was crucial before activating the cell to successfully develop into an embryo.

If you are still unclear with the procedure and terms described above, just go through ‘Click and Clone’.

Human cloning- the next ‘natural’ step from stem cell growth?

Graphic courtesy of Michigan State University.

There have been numerous cases of stem cell growth for therapeutic purposes, such as the regeneration of skin and heart tissue, and the pharming and transplantation of animal organs into human patients, i.e. the Robert Pennington case.

Our generation of bio-scientists has also cloned mice and sheep, i.e. the case of Dolly. Therefore, is not the cloning of humans the most ‘natural’ next step in our progression in human enhancement?

The process followed in stem cell regeneration is similar to the one followed in cloning. The only distinguishing factor is the final stage, whereby the cloned cell could either be used for stem cell regeneration or to impregnate- refer to the graphic above.

Theoretically this is possible, and to some extent practically possible as displayed in the case of Dolly, the first cloned sheep. However, some bio-scientists have gone as far as brazenly claiming to have successfully cloned humans. Dr Brigitte Boisellier of Clonaid is one of them.

In an interview with Sir David Frost on "BBC Breakfast with Frost" (November 23, 2003) Dr Boisellier claimed that her cloning company had already cloned five babies (without any defects), and the eldest was almost a year at the time of the interview (having been born in December 26, 2002).

According to Dr Boisellier it is “[e]asier to clone human beings than it is to clone any other mammals”. She also claimed that Clonaid had already been cloning humans for over 25 years.

In recent years Clonaid has been shadowed with fraud claims as Dr Boisellier has failed to provide any evidence of her clone babies. This was her argument during the interview:

DR BRIGITTE BOISSELIER: "Okay. For me it's not a problem, it's for the parents. You know, they have their baby, they want to lead a happy life and they want to protect the child, the children. So for me, I respect that even if it was hard. Can you imagine like last year when I had to say well it's impossible to give the proof because of them saying no. But in the second, I think the second generation might be easier, ... the second ... babies ..."

Although I am eager to jump onto the Clonaid train of endless possibilities, I am afraid that I remain as sceptical of her abilities at cloning humans as bioethicist Professor Nigel Cameron of the Centre for Bioethics and Public Policy.

NIGEL CAMERON: "I think virtually every scientist in the world would say that it is impossible at the moment to clone live-born human beings. That's one clear fact. There's a lot of research into aging processes but this stem cell stuff is so hard to control at the moment I think it will be a long way away."

Until further evidence I too share this sentiment. However, I suspect I am far more positive about the prospect of successful cloning of humans than Professor Cameron.

Stay tuned for the next blog post, which will be an infographic on how one (theoretically) goes about cloning a human. Then decide for yourself if human cloning is or isn't the next 'natural' step from stem growth in human enhancement.